Chuck Sweeny: Taxpayers likely to lose in Pecatonica Township tussle

Chuck Sweeny Staff writer @chucksweeny

Saturday

Jan 27, 2018 at 5:55 PMJan 28, 2018 at 12:25 AM

You'd think that with tax dollars in short supply that our state's 7,000 local units of government would try to work together to get the biggest bang for the buck that's possible, especially in rural areas with stagnant economies and no significant development.

But often, dueling personalities get in the way of good government. Come with me today to the land of Pecatonica Township and its sidekick for tax assessment purposes, Seward Township. The following fracas makes no sense, but taxpayers will end up paying for it.

The Pecatonica Township Office is at 410 Reed Street in Pecatonica. Township Supervisor Joe Musso has his office there, and the township board meetings take place there.

There's also an office in the back for Scott Hamilton, assessor of Pecatonica and Seward townships. The two were combined in 2004 because of a state law that says when a township falls below 1,000 people, it must be combined with another township for assessment purposes. Pecatonica Township Supervisor Musso is also on the Pec-Seward multi-township assessment board. (Still following?)

The assessor's office has been where it is since at least 2000, said Hamilton. Without warning, at the end of November he got a notice signed by "Joe Musso, landlord," giving him 30 days to get his assessment office out of the building.

The 30 days has come and gone, and when I talked Thursday to Hamilton, he was still in his office on Reed Street.

"They can’t really give me any reason for evicting me. Last month they said they more needed space. I asked what it had to do with me and they couldn’t answer. (Pecatonica Township Attorney John) Nelson said that instead of fighting Musso I should just leave."

Next I called Musso to see why he wants Hamilton to go.

"I had no privacy in my office, and the attorney suggested I use the back room" where the assessor is located. "There are things being said that shouldn’t be said," Musso said. "Some people just don't want to believe what's going on and they have cost me a lot of money." He said I should talk to Nelson if I needed more information.

Next I called Garelt Stahl, Seward Township supervisor and head of the Pec-Seward multi-township assessment board.

"We did some research. When Pec Township bought the building in 2000, it was for the township supervisor, for records and for the assessor. In 2004 the Pec Township assessor was given Seward Township because the population there dropped below 1,000," Stahl said.

The Pec-Seward assessment board meets four times a year. Its levy is $45,900. There's no extra money for a separate office for the assessor. Currently the assessment board pays $1,200 a year to Pecatonica Township for the assessor's office space, Stahl said.

"If we had to leave and find a new office we'd be hurting," Stahl said. Hamilton agreed, saying, "There's some office space on Main Street that runs from $800 to $1,000 a month," he said.

Let's review. Currently Stahl's board is paying $1,200 a year for the assessor's office. If the assessor actually has to move, taxpayers might be on the hook for another $10,000 or more. This does not sound like fiscal responsibility to me. You?

Finally I called Nelson, the Pec Township attorney and head of the Illinois Township Attorneys Association. Nelson explained that Hamilton has to go "primarily because the supervisor needs more space. The situation between the two individuals (Musso and Hamilton) has become untenable."

"There is a wall separating the assessor's office, but it's not soundproof, so you have a problem with noise between the two offices. One of the complaints made was that there were records and other items that were disappearing from the supervisor's office, so the supervisor (Musso) locked the door between the assessor's and his office, which was met with a complaint to the fire department that it would be unsafe," Nelson said. The space turned out to be OK, he said.

Noting that Hamilton shows no signs of leaving his office, Nelson said, "I think we're going to have to have the assessor find other quarters. It's now the end of January and he can't find a place to relocate."

Nelson suggested that Hamilton could relocate to space in a local firehouse, but Hamilton said that space is not available.

Stahl said that if a lawsuit is filed to evict Hamilton, "I think any judge would laugh it right out of the courthouse."

Chuck Sweeny: 815-987-1366; csweeny@rrstar.com; @chucksweeny

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